story5947.xml
Title
story5947.xml
Source
born-digital
Media Type
story
Date Entered
2002-09-12
911DA Story: Story
I'm sure my story starts like everyone elses. I woke up and got ready for work. The day began like any other day. I had to be at work at 7am, so I had to leave my house by 6am. My family was still asleep, so I didn't turn on a radio or a TV. I dislike talk radio, so I listened to a cd in the car on my way to work.
In the six years that I had worked at Disneyland, I had rarely been asked to show my ID to get into the employee parking lot. I was angry with the security guard at the gate when he made me dig for it without an explanation as to why.
The employee parking lot is a couple of blocks away from the park and employees were shuttled into the park. I first heard that a plane was deliberatly crashed into one of the twin towers. I was no longer angry with the security guard, now I understood.
I made it to my location in Disneyland park after passing through rigerous security checks. The checked ID's and made us open every single compartment of our bags (needless to say, I stopped bringing bags to work). At the time I arrived, the park was still schedualed to open on time, but most of us had our doubts as to wheather or not that would happen.
We did not have a tv in our location, but we did have a radio. We performed our morning routine of preparing to open the shops in Tomorrowland while listening to what was happening on the east coast.
It was between 7:30 and 8am that we were told that the park would not be opening for the day. We were told to have our employees stay and do what ever was needed to prepare for the next day. When everything was done, then we could send everyone home. We were also asked to send some of our employees to the main entrance to act as guest control, turning guests away and explaining the situation. I sent several people to do that and assigned tasks to the rest of my employees, expecting to be there a couple of hours before sending everyone home.
About fifteen minutes later, we received a phone call. We needed to send everyone home right away. We were to drop everything, lock the doors to our locations and leave. I went to each of my locations and ensured there was no one in any of them and that they were all secured. The others on the management team made sure everyone was accounted for and told them what was going on. I remember waiting at the gate to the shuttle making sure that all of my employees left before leaving myself.
I went home and watched the news in horror, until I couldn't stand to watch anymore. I found out that all of the theme parks had been closed because they were potential targets, that was why we were made to leave in a hurry.
I cried that day for everyone that was injured or killed that day. I grieved for their families. I still do. The day stands out in my mind. I remember conversations that I had and feelings I felt. It is my greatest hope that this never happens again.
Life went on. September 12th came and went and suddenly it is September 11, 2002. I marveled today that a year has passed. The wounds are still so fresh that it does not feel that the year has passed.
Disneyland reopened on September 12, 2001. The atmosphere was subdued, but people still came to the park. For a lot of people it was a brief escape from the horrible events of the day before. Security tightened up and is still like that today. New policies were implemented. We were given more information than ever before on what to do in the event of a man made or natural disaster. The days continue to pass.
In the six years that I had worked at Disneyland, I had rarely been asked to show my ID to get into the employee parking lot. I was angry with the security guard at the gate when he made me dig for it without an explanation as to why.
The employee parking lot is a couple of blocks away from the park and employees were shuttled into the park. I first heard that a plane was deliberatly crashed into one of the twin towers. I was no longer angry with the security guard, now I understood.
I made it to my location in Disneyland park after passing through rigerous security checks. The checked ID's and made us open every single compartment of our bags (needless to say, I stopped bringing bags to work). At the time I arrived, the park was still schedualed to open on time, but most of us had our doubts as to wheather or not that would happen.
We did not have a tv in our location, but we did have a radio. We performed our morning routine of preparing to open the shops in Tomorrowland while listening to what was happening on the east coast.
It was between 7:30 and 8am that we were told that the park would not be opening for the day. We were told to have our employees stay and do what ever was needed to prepare for the next day. When everything was done, then we could send everyone home. We were also asked to send some of our employees to the main entrance to act as guest control, turning guests away and explaining the situation. I sent several people to do that and assigned tasks to the rest of my employees, expecting to be there a couple of hours before sending everyone home.
About fifteen minutes later, we received a phone call. We needed to send everyone home right away. We were to drop everything, lock the doors to our locations and leave. I went to each of my locations and ensured there was no one in any of them and that they were all secured. The others on the management team made sure everyone was accounted for and told them what was going on. I remember waiting at the gate to the shuttle making sure that all of my employees left before leaving myself.
I went home and watched the news in horror, until I couldn't stand to watch anymore. I found out that all of the theme parks had been closed because they were potential targets, that was why we were made to leave in a hurry.
I cried that day for everyone that was injured or killed that day. I grieved for their families. I still do. The day stands out in my mind. I remember conversations that I had and feelings I felt. It is my greatest hope that this never happens again.
Life went on. September 12th came and went and suddenly it is September 11, 2002. I marveled today that a year has passed. The wounds are still so fresh that it does not feel that the year has passed.
Disneyland reopened on September 12, 2001. The atmosphere was subdued, but people still came to the park. For a lot of people it was a brief escape from the horrible events of the day before. Security tightened up and is still like that today. New policies were implemented. We were given more information than ever before on what to do in the event of a man made or natural disaster. The days continue to pass.
Collection
Citation
“story5947.xml,” September 11 Digital Archive, accessed December 20, 2025, https://911digitalarchive.org/items/show/10785.